Desert Fury (1947)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Lewis Allen

Writers:

A.I. Bezzerides (writer)
Robert Rossen (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

15 August 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir

Plot:

The daughter of a Nevada casino owner gets involved with a racketeer, despite everyone's efforts to separate them.

Plot Keywords:

Avant Garde | Melodrama | Based On Novel

Cast

John Hodiak	...	Eddie Bendix
Lizabeth Scott	...	Paula Haller
Burt Lancaster	...	Tom Hanson
Wendell Corey	...	Johnny Ryan
Mary Astor	...	Fritzi Haller
Kristine Miller	...	Claire Lindquist
William Harrigan	...	Judge Berle Lindquist
James Flavin	...	Sheriff Pat Johnson
Jane Novak	...	Mrs. Lindquist
Anna Camargo	...	Rosa
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Farrell	...	Drunk in jail (uncredited)
Lew Harvey	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Milton Kibbee	...	Mike (bartender) (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Dealer (uncredited)
Ralph Peters	...	Pete (cafe owner) (uncredited)
Ed Randolph	...	Dealer (uncredited)
Tom Schamp	...	Dan (deputy) (uncredited)
Ray Teal	...	Bus driver (uncredited)
Harland Tucker	...	Chuck (craps dealer) (uncredited)

Directed by
Lewis Allen

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
A.I. Bezzerides		writer
Robert Rossen		screenplay
Ramona Stewart		novel "Desert Town"

Produced by
Hal B. Wallis	....	producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa

Cinematography by
Edward Cronjager
Charles Lang

Film Editing by
Warren Low

Art Direction by
Perry Ferguson

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Sydney Moore		(as Syd Moore)

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard McWhorter	....	assistant director (as Dick McWhorter)
Gerd Oswald	....	assistant director

Art Department
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Harry Lindgren	....	sound recordist
Walter Oberst	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Gordon Jennings	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Farciot Edouart	....	process photographer

Editorial Department
Francis Cugat	....	associate color consultant

Music Department
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Natalie Kalmus	....	technicolor color director

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1958) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)

Also Known As:

Desert Town (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #12025)

Filming Locations:

Clarkdale, Arizona, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Love triangle?

I've always wondered why Lizabeth Scott never became a big star;part of the reason can be found in the fact that she resembled Lauren Bacall.She plays opposite a bossy Mary Astor and a young Burt Lancaster with whom she would team up again the following year in " I walk alone" .But neither her nor Lancaster have interesting characters in "desert fury".

The real meat lies in the John Hodiak/Wendell Corey relationship.It seems sometimes that Johnny is in love with Eddie and is jealous of the women he woos."He's a bad man,he might have killed his wife " Johnny warns Paula ,but he cannot hide his misogyny and he tells her so:he hates her,and never Eddie will leave HIM for HER.